During the COVID-19 pandemic, federal action boosted food assistance for low-income families enrolled in CalFresh, the state version of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Starting in March 2020, emergency allotments increased benefits up to the maximum amount for eligible households (about $194 for a one-person household) but bypassed nearly 40 percent of households with incomes so low they already received the maximum. In April 2021, the policy was revised to provide a boost of at least $95 to the lowest-income families.
Average CalFresh benefits doubled over about three years of the pandemic, including temporary and permanent benefit expansions beyond emergency allotments. But prices for goods and services also continued to rise, so that, adjusted for inflation, CalFresh benefits increased 77 percent.
Which CalFresh households received emergency allotments at the start of the pandemic?
The March 2020 emergency allotments gave more assistance to households that had more resources beyond CalFresh from earned income, unemployment insurance, or cash assistance programs. Households with current or recent earnings were about equally represented in the groups that received different sizes of allotments: 27 percent of those with a large allotment had earnings, as did 32 percent of those with a small allotment and 25 percent of those with no allotment.